Herbert W Armstrong

   Here on January 3rd began one of the most dramatic confrontations between church and state in 200 years of American legal history. That morning, with no prior notice given to church officials, a California Deputy Attorney General accompanied by two private attorneys whom he had deputized arrived at the church's Hall of Administration. They announced to startled employees that by order of a Los Angeles superior court, the church had been placed in a state of Receivership. With them was a retired Los Angeles judge, the designated receiver who employees were told was by court mandate. Now in charge of the Worldwide Church of God.

   As a result of the recent confrontation between the state of California and the Worldwide Church of God, some have accused your church members of violating state laws and disregarding the state's authority. Are those charges true?

   Absolutely not Art. We had broken no law whatsoever. We were not accused of breaking a specific law of any kind. Rather, in a secret session, which was, in itself, illegal, in the private chambers of Judge Pach, they hatched out a conspiracy to invade and to take over the property of the Worldwide Church of God. We weren't accused. We had committed no crime. We had broken no law. They didn't come with a definite accusation of law. They didn't come to put us under arrest under an accusation, anything of the kind. They came to take over, pure and simple, and to do just what they accused us of doing: to sell the properties of the Worldwide Church of God and put the proceeds in their own pockets. It was that kind. It's hard to believe, I know, that men in politics or those in the legal profession would stoop to do a thing like that. But it has been done in this time that it's opened up for the public to understand.

   The World Tomorrow. The Worldwide Church of God presents the World Tomorrow with Herbert W. Armstrong, ladies and gentlemen, Herbert W. Armstrong.

   Policing any corporation, let alone a church in Receivership, is a drastic legal remedy. It amounts, in essence, to a governmental takeover. It is usually reserved for situations where some interested parties, such as stockholders, are in grave danger of loss due to gross mismanagement. The Worldwide Church of God was placed into Receivership following a secret court hearing, a hearing of which church officials knew nothing. At the hearing, a Deputy California Attorney General presented a lawsuit alleging that the church was indeed so mismanaged as to be worthy of Receivership.

   It should be pointed out that while the California Attorney General was the plaintiff in this action, there were also six relators. These six individuals were former church members. Their complaints against the church supposedly formed the basis for the suit. Named as defendants in the suit were several corporations, including the Worldwide Church of God, Ambassador College, which is operated by the church, and the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which is funded by the church. Also named as defendants were certain individuals, principally church founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, and his chief adviser and aide, Stanley R. Rader.

   What has been most upsetting to church officials and to church members is the plaintiff's assertion that control of the church and its assets ultimately rests with the California Attorney General of California courts. According to the lawsuit, it is the responsibility of the California Attorney General to watch over nonprofit corporations, including churches, and ensure that they do not misuse the funds entrusted to them.

   In the words of the lawsuit, the powers of any charitable trustee are subject at all times to supervision by the attorney general acting on behalf of the people of the state and by the court. Church leaders such as Herbert Armstrong and Stanley Rader were described simply as trustees who have been allowed to manage the charitable fund on a day-to-day basis. Those trustees, it was maintained, serve at the court's pleasure. Thus, the plaintiff maintained the court, in imposing a Receivership, would not be taking over private property rights. It would merely be actively exercising the rights it itself held in reserve. In the eyes of thousands of church members, this was an assertion that the courts and the state attorney general were ultimately in charge of the Worldwide Church of God, having the power to remove its leadership and having control over its assets.

   I'm Art Gilmore. Recently, I went to Mr. Armstrong's office in Tucson to interview the man who founded the Worldwide Church of God nearly 50 years ago.

   Art Gilmore: Mr. Armstrong, it's nice to be back with you again. I asked you quite a few questions before, and I have some more.

   Mr. Armstrong: Thank you. Glad to have you with me again. Thank you.

   Art Gilmore: Well, now, did you or any of your close personal advisors, such as Stanley Rader, violate any of the laws as a result of this resistance to this state authority?

   Mr. Armstrong: I don't know of any law I ever violated, and I nor was I accused of any, nor was Mr. Rader. Now, they talked about siphoning off or pilfering millions of dollars to our own use, you know, where that came from. That's an interesting thing. We have been taking a number of depositions as part of this lawsuit action. And we have found out a few things. We have taken depositions of the ex-members that have been put out of the church who were embedded in the wrong attitude. And yet, we find that not one of them are the one's or the source of the idea that we had pilfered off or siphoned off millions of dollars. Not one, you know where that came from. It's a funny thing. It came from the lawyer that had been chosen, Mr. Kod Chodos. He is the one who thought of that, and no ex-member of the church and no member of the church ever thought of any such thing. It's ridiculous. I haven't had to go before our church and say I didn't siphon off millions of dollars. I just ignored it because the whole thing is so ridiculous. And the church members have responded 99% since this has happened. They have responded, and our income is up, and not down. The income is bigger than it was. Although we had to put a few out of the church, but the membership has grown greater because we've taken in more new members than we have had to send out of all members that were wrong.

   More of our program right after this announcement.

   Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of...

   More and more Americans are recognizing how actively they must guard the liberties guaranteed them by the Bill of Rights. In January 1979, the state of California brought a landmark lawsuit against the Worldwide Church of God, attempting to replace the church's leadership. The suit claims that the church is a ward of the state, church funds, and assets are called public property because of the importance of the First Amendment issues involved. The worldwide Church of God invites you to examine this packet of information. Call this toll-free number: 800-423-4444. That's 800-423-4444.

   Art Gilmore: While taking the offensive yourself, in a sense, you have accused the state of violating the law. How do you?

   Mr. Armstrong: They violated the law in two ways. In the first place, it was a conspiracy hatched on January the second in the private chambers of Judge Pack, and, I have the entire, I have read the entire, court reporter's, report of every word that took place in that conspiracy, and it was a conspiracy without any definite accusation. We had broken no law. We were not charged with breaking any law but a appointed, a just without any reason whatsoever. Appointed a receiver to take over the church and to fire me and get me out of, who had been used by the Eternal God in building his church.

   Well, how long do you think I was out? I wasn't out two seconds at any time. The church is still running full blast. The, Judge that then took over, stopped the letter that I had written from going out of the Pasadena post office. But immediately we sent a letter out to another post office. They didn't know where it was going out, so they weren't able to stop it, and the money started rolling in, and the money comes to me now, right where I'm speaking to, you know, from, in, Tucson, Arizona. We now are the biggest customer of the post office in Tucson by far because the letters are coming in from oh 1 ½ thousand, up to three or 4000 a day. So, you see the money is still coming, the work is still going on because the people believe in it.

   Now, another thing is the siphoning off this money and whether I needed to try to defend myself, I have a stack of signed statements all on the same sheet of paper that was sent out for them to sign if they wanted to, of just flat sheets of paper, just like any flat sheet, one on top of another, which had reached up to the ceiling of this room, and then some, saying and telling how much money they have sent in the last several years and that they expected that money to go for preaching the gospel around the world and for the kind of trips that I have taken and that they approve the way the money has been expended. It has been fairly reported to them, and they approve it.

   Now, for some reason, our defense attorneys don't seem to want to use that, well they look at, I am learning things are Art, I'm learning things about law that I never knew before. And let me tell you, it is rotten like everything else of human endeavor. It is rotten to the core, our legal system, our court system, there is no justice in it. I've learned a lot of things I did not know before.

   Now Stanley Rader is a lawyer and he is a very brilliant young lawyer. He graduated from law school of University of Southern California with the highest grades in history. He was always, a great exponent for law, a man's law and law and order. But now he says he sees I have been right all along. The Bible speaks about the unjust judge. We've had a few such experiences ourselves. Do you ever stop to think a judge as a human being just like we are and that he has the same selfish motives. Is that everybody else? Is that? Why is he any different? He's looking out for number one sends everybody else is that is, that is the way it seems like it is. So, there was this conspiracy in the Judge Pack office, and they sent the receiver to fire me and to take over.

   Now, actually, it was a fishing expedition. They had some trumped-up charges that as I say, this lawyer Chodos, a lawyer in Beverly Hills who happened to know these judges and was on a personal acquaintance basis with them, and they hatched up the whole conspiracy. And he is the one who put in the idea that we had siphoned off millions of dollars.

   More of our program, right after this announcement.

   The Worldwide Church of God is an international ecclesiastical organization. Each week, it conducts church services in nearly 600 cities in the United States, Canada, and around the world. The church operates Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, a four-year liberal arts institution.

   The World Church of God is the sponsoring body of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, through which it supports a wide range of scientific, humanitarian, and cultural endeavors. Despite these activities, adverse publicity has recently characterized the worldwide Church of God as a cult. While the church does not actively solicit members, it is concerned that its international reputation be maintained. This booklet is a clear statement of the church's history and purposes. If you'd like a free copy of, This Is the Worldwide Church of God, call this toll-free number: 800-423-4444, 800-423-4444.

   Art Gilmore: You've talked about the government of God earlier in the program. Could you explain what it is and its significance for mankind?

   Mr. Armstrong: Very few people understand that once the government of God ruled over the whole earth. The government of God, now, people mostly have never heard of anything like that. They don't know what it is, but it's the government of God. And naturally, every government is based on a basic law or constitution. And the law of God is a law of love, summed up by the word love.

   I always explain it this way in my journeys around the world and proclaiming the gospel and with the heads of government and the people of that sort, that there are two philosophies or two ways of life. Now, one is the way of get, and the other is the way of give. I like the expression love better than give. But most people don't understand. They are likely to define love in terms of lust. And, of course, real love is outgoing, concern for the good and welfare of others. It is giving, it is serving, it is helping, cooperating, and so on. The getaway is the way of vanity and the way of lust and greed. It is the way of competition against others, of strife, the way of jealousy and envy and of rebellion, and everything that goes with it.

   Now, those are the two basic ways of life. The government of God is based on the one word love and His love toward God and is love toward neighbor. But now when the government of God was first established on this earth, that was way back before man was even created. We find that when God created the earth, as you will read in the 38th chapter of Job, I won't take the time to turn to it and read it, the angels were already there. And when God created the earth, they shouted for joy. Well, that shows that angels were already created. Now, they were the ones who first inhabited this earth. And you find in II Peter, the 2nd chapter, the 4th verse that the angels, some of them sinned and were sinners. The government of God was placed over them on this earth. There was a throne on this earth.

   I want to read just a little bit of it. I won't take up much time on that. But in Isaiah 14, beginning with verse 12 (Isaiah 14:12), 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer?' It, speaking of that archangel here, the Son of the morning, 'How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations.' Or, 'How art thou, which did weaken the nation, cut down to the ground,' would be a better translation. 'For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars, or the angels, of God. I will also set upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.' Now that throne, then, was under the clouds. It was on earth. He was going to ascend up above the clouds in to God's heaven, and he was going to invade heaven and conquer God and take over the whole universe. That was the conspiracy.

   People will ask the question: Did God create a devil? No, God didn't create a devil as such. God created a superior being, an archangel, which was the highest being that even God can directly, by fiat, create. Now, it says here in the 14th verse, 28th chapter of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:14), 'Thou art the anointed Cherub that covereth,' speaking to this Lucifer, 'Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee.'

   Now, when God created him, he was perfect, and he was perfect for some time until he turned the wrong way. This Archangel was a rebel, and he rebelled against the government of God. Angels were placed on this earth. Angels were given the government of God; they rejected it. They turned wrong, as a result, great disaster came to the earth and decay. And as a result, God, in six days, as you read in the 104th Psalm, that God renewed the surface of the earth and prepared it for man. And then he created the first man, Adam and Eve.

   Art Gilmore: Well, what about Adam and Eve? Did they have an opportunity to become part of God's government?

   Mr. Armstrong: Now, Adam had the chance of obeying God, and God saw to it that Satan could not get to him until God had first talked to Adam and Eve and instructed them. If you can remember, I mean, if you can realize, God had created a man and a woman. All of a sudden, they were created just that quick, and they were adults. I would guess, though the Bible doesn't say, I would suppose they were probably about age 30 to begin with as they were created. They weren't born, they weren't born as little babies, they didn't grow up, they were already grown, they were already mature. But there was no knowledge in their minds.

   So, God began to fill their minds with knowledge, and God talked to them before he let Satan get near them. You know, these are things that most people never think about and don't realize they're in the Bible, and they're so very, very important because they're basic, they're fundamental. Then Satan was clever enough to get to Adam by his wife, Eve. He didn't come directly to Adam, and as a result, there were the two trees in the Garden of Eden. The one was the tree of life, which was a symbol. And I think there was a real tree there as far as that's concerned, but it was a symbolic tree, and it was a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God. And taking that tree, they would have taken, and God would have given them His Holy Spirit. Now, man was made to need the second spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.

   God, then, let's turn back to it just a second, the third chapter of Genesis, and at the 22nd verse (Genesis 3:22), 'And the eternal God said, behold, the man who becomes one of us to know good and evil.' He took the knowledge of good and evil to himself. 'And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life' that is get the Holy Spirit of God 'and eat and live forever and gain eternal life or immortality. Therefore, the eternal God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken.' So, he God 'drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, Cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.' In other words, God shot man off from any association with him at that time.

   Now, God, in effect, said, 'All right, Adam, I have created you, you have had your chance to accept my government, to reject the way of Satan. But you have heard me, and you have heard Satan, and you've decided to rebel, the same as he did. You have rejected my government. Therefore, I say to you, go and form your own governments, your own way. Your mind is not complete and cannot be until you receive my Holy Spirit. And you have rejected that, and I'm driving you out of the Garden, unless you go back and receive that spirit. Consequently, I will not call you to judgment during this next 6000 years. But for 6000 years, I am sentencing you and your posterity, which means the whole world, to being cut off from me, your creator, God, completely cut off. You cannot have any contact or connection with me whatsoever. You will go your own ways and the ways of your own thinking.

   Now, remember, Satan was still there, and God didn't shut him off. So, Satan has ruled over man and has swayed man, and man's society has built the world we have. God said, 'Build your own, your own governments. You rejected mine.' God said, 'You rejected me as your God.' So, go form your own religions.' So, God said, 'You go form your own fund of knowledge. You've rejected me as the source of knowledge. You've taken to yourself the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. So, you won't even have the right knowledge. You found your own fund of knowledge.'

   Do you know that the most ignorant people in this world are the most highly educated? They are the most ignorant, and the time is coming in the world tomorrow when we're going to have to have classes of de-education, of the, of unlearning, and those that have gone through and had the highest degrees in the universities are going to have to unlearn the many things that they have been taught there under man's kind of created knowledge. God didn't create it. God was no part of it, but Satan was.

   Now, then we're in a world where Satan has created the education. Satan has masterminded the governments, and they're all fighting one another. Satan has masterminded the religions, and in the New Testament, there was only one church that was God's that was founded by Jesus Christ in 31 A.D. at Jerusalem. And it has existed ever since.

   Now of all of the religions in the world, and there are many pagan religions in Oriental countries, and of all of the denominations that call themselves Christians, more than 250. Do you know that not one except that original church that Christ founded knows who and what God is. I may come back to that a little later. Not one knows what or why man is. What is man? Why was he put here? What was God's purpose in putting him on earth? Not one knows. I'm writing a book on that. Not one knows what was the gospel that Jesus brought. They talk about preaching the gospel. Well, I'll have more to say about that. I hope a little later, maybe not on this program but a later program. And not one knows what about the hereafter and what is it all about and what's going to happen? Not one knows the real destiny of man.

   Well, you pretty soon you begin to wonder and ask, well, what does man know? Does he know anything?

   For the free literature offered on this program, write Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California 91123 in Canada Box 44, Vancouver BC or in the Continental United States. You may call this toll-free number 800-423-4444. That's 800-423-4444 in California dial direct 213-577-5225. The preceding program and all literature were produced by the Worldwide church of God.